Egypt's ruling generals confirmed Friday that 78-year-old Kamal al-Ganzouri, who served as prime minister under former president Hosni Mubarak in the 1990s, has agreed to take over as interim prime minister following the resignation of the country's cabinet earlier this week.

According to al-Jazeera, the news that al-Ganzouri was in-talks with Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi about taking the job was first reported on the Web site of Egyptian state newspaper Al-Ahram Thursday night, prompting cries of "We don't want him! We don't want him!" from the pro-democracy protestors gathered in Tahrir Square, whose numbers have swelled 100,000.

The White House was similarly skeptical, issuing a statement Friday morning that the transfer of power to a civilian government needs to happen "as soon as possible."

For his part, al-Ganzouri insisted during a televised interview on state television that he has more power than predecessor Essam Sharaf, and that Monday's elections will not be delayed.

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Ray Gustini is the author of Lucky Town, a forthcoming book about sports in Washington, D.C. He is a former staff writer for The Atlantic Wire.